Sochi 2014

Olympic Torch Relay set to continue journey by train

The Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch Relay has completed the air travel segment of its journey across Russia and will now continue its way around the country by train, as the 123-day relay enters its seventh week.

Between now and the Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games on 7 February 2014, the Olympic flame will travel a record 17,400 kilometres by rail in a specially designed train, decorated in the official orange patchwork quilt brand of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch Relay.

On its journey it will cross the borders of 53 Russian regions and will be carried by approximately 10,000 Torchbearers in 76 cities of the Far Eastern, Siberian, Volga, Southern and North Caucasian Federal Districts.

"Today, the longest segment of our record-breaking Olympic Torch Relay begins,” said Sochi 2014 President Dmitry Chernyshenko. “The flame will travel from the far east of Russia to the Olympic host city, passing through the territories of 53 Russian regions. The route is formed in such a way that the principal symbol of the Games can be seen not only by the inhabitants of large cities, but also those in the most remote settlements. Bringing a piece of the Olympic celebration to every home is the main objective of the national Torch Relay."

After beginning in Moscow on 7 October, the Olympic Torch Relay covered 9,534km during its first 22 days, travelling by road between 37 cities in the Central and North-Western Federal District of Russia before reaching Saint Petersburg. Once there, the air segment of the relay began, with the Olympic flame being carried along the streets of 20 cities in the Northwest, Ural, Siberian and Far Eastern Federal Districts of Russia, while covering the huge distances between each city in a Sochi 2014-branded plane.

So far, more than 4,000 Torchbearers have carried the flame, which has illuminated many iconic Russian landmarks, including Rurikovo Gorodishche, Yasnaya Polyana estate, Kizhi State Open-Air Museum, historic suburbs of St. Petersburg, and churches and temples of the Golden Ring of Russia. The Olympic flame has also visited the largest diamond mine in the world and the top of the Avacha volcano.